You Know You're My Best Friend, Right?
by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl
Summary: Ted puts his job on the line to protect his injured best friend Cody. One-shot. Please R&R.


**A/N: I don't own anything, so don't sue. This is just something that popped into my head after I saw a picture of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. Please R&R. Enjoy.**

**You Know You're My Best Friend, Right?**

Cody hit the mat hard, the impact driving the air out of his lungs. He lay there stunned, staring up at the bright arena lights overhead. He could dimly hear the chants of "Cody sucks" from the crowd, but a voice cut through all of them. A voice that had spoken to Cody dozens of times before, only now he couldn't quite remember who it belonged to. His head hurt and everything was a little fuzzy. He was suddenly very sleepy and he felt like closing his eyes for just a second.

On the apron, Ted DiBiase watched in horror as his best friend lay limply in the middle of the ring. Why wasn't he getting up? Ted had called his name but Cody hadn't acknowledged him. He began to panic as seconds ticked by without Cody moving an inch, and he began to wonder if he was seriously hurt. He knew Cody; he wouldn't sell a move for that long. But the worst part was, Cody's opponent Randy Orton didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong. In fact, he looked like he was preparing for a leg drop. A leg drop that could make the possible injury that Cody had worse.

Acting on impulse, Ted ducked into the ring and threw himself between Randy and Cody's limp form. He knew that he would get in serious trouble for interrupting the match and not sticking to the script, but none of that mattered now. The only thing that mattered was Cody's well-being.

Randy skidded to halt, his steely-gray eyes flashing as he looked at Ted in bewilderment and anger. "What the fuck are you doing?" he hissed to the younger man, keeping his voice low.

"There's something wrong with Cody," Ted muttered, barely moving his lips so that the crowd wouldn't see what he was saying. "I think he's hurt."

"I don't give a shit, just move and let me finish the match." Randy spat, stalking forward and reaching out one hand as if he was going to shove Ted out of the way.

"No, I can't let you do that!" Ted cried, thrusting out his hands and pushing Randy back a few steps.

"Ted, seriously, get the hell out of my way before I RKO your ass," Randy threatened, his jaw clenched.

"Randy, I'm not going to let you potentially worsen Cody's injury for a stupid match," Ted snapped. He couldn't believe that Randy would choose the match over Cody's health; after all, he had gotten to know the young man back when they were all in Legacy together. How could he not care about Cody?

"Ted, we're on live TV for Christ's sake," Randy growled, shooting a sideways glance at the crowd, who were getting more and more confused as the minutes rolled by without any action. "I have to do something quick or these people are gonna riot."

Ted's mind raced and suddenly came up with a solution. "RKO me instead," he said to Randy out of the corner of his mouth.

"What?"

"If you RKO me, then the ref will call for the match to be tossed out, Cody won't get hurt anymore, and the crowd will get to see some action."

Randy studied his face, his eyes bright. "You really want to do this?"

"Yes. Now do it, before the crowd gets any more anxious."

Randy gave him a sharp nod and then he crouched down and jumped up, grabbing Ted's head and pulling him to the mat for an RKO. The ref called for the bell to be rung, and Cody won the match by disqualification. Randy stalked around the ring, acting pissed off that Ted had interrupted what was going to be a certain win, while Ted sold the move a little. Then, satisfied that he had played his part, Ted grabbed Cody by his arm and pulled him gently out of the ring. Cody slid to the floor outside the ring and leaned up against the apron, his ice-blue eyes unfocused. Ted, who knew all of the signs of a concussion, knelt in front of him, concern etched on his face.

"Cody? Code Man, can you hear me?"

Cody lifted his head and blinked a couple of times, struggling to focus on Ted's face. Then, after a moment, he muttered, "Ted?"

"Yeah, it's me." Ted said, relief pouring through his body. For one terrifying moment, he had thought that Cody didn't recognize him.

"Wha' happened?" Cody's speech was slurred a little and his head kept bobbing forward as though he was going to fall asleep at any moment. Ted knew that if Cody did have a concussion, then he had to stay awake.

"You took a hard shot to the head, buddy. C'mon, let's get you to the medics." Ted put one of Cody's arms over his shoulders and lifted him to his feet. Cody swayed a little at first, but Ted held on to him tightly and the two of them began making their way up the ramp.

Halfway up, Cody stirred and said, "Ted?"

"Yeah Codes?"

"You put yourself between me and Randy out there, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Ted blinked, a little surprised that Cody had noticed that. He'd thought he'd been passed out through the whole thing.

"And you know you could lose your job for this, right?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, I know." Ted answered, shifting his hold on Cody a little as they reached the stage.

Cody digested this for a second before murmuring, "Ted?"

"Yeah?"

"You know you're my best friend, right?"

"Yeah Codes, I know. I know."

**THE END**


End file.
